61
Abandon Babies left in Unsafe Places Since July 2000
Date
County
Baby
Status
12/27/2013
Okaloosa
VILMA
Dead
A women has been arrested in the death of her newborn daughter last week after efforts to save the infant’s life failed, according to the Okaloosa County Sherff’s Office….Tonisha Lache Crowell, 29, has been charged with first-degree non-premeditated murder and aggravated child abuse.She was arrested Friday night and booked into Okaloosa County Jail. No bond has been set.The investigation began after Crowell went to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center on Wednesday for vaginal bleeding, according to her arrest report. A doctor determined that she had given birth just hours before.Earlier last week, Crowell had an ultrasound at the hospital after experiencing stomach pain, her arrest report states. Medical personnel determined she was about 38 weeks pregnant with a girl. When Crowell returned to the hospital Wednesday, she denied to the staff that was pregnant or had given birth, according to investigators. She spoke to her fiancé about the birth on the telephone from the hospital later, her arrest report states. “You are going to hate me,” Crowell told her fiancé, according to the report. Sheriff’s investigators say she gave birth Wednesday afternoon in a bathroom at her townhome on Leigh Ann Lane in Wright. Crowell later told investigators she thought the infant was dead but did not check for breathing, according to the Sheriff’s Office. She put the infant in a white garbage bag and left it outside, her arrest report states. After being alerted by the hospital later Wednesday, deputies found the 7-pound infant in the bag near a wooden fence just north of Crowell’s home about 7:10 p.m. Wednesday. It was less than 50 degrees outside, according to Crowell’s arrest report. The baby was bleeding heavily because her umbilical cord was still attached. A deputy saw the baby’s chest rise and began CPR, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The girl was rushed to the hospital’s emergency room, where she was breathing at a rate of four breaths per minute before she was pronounced dead at 8 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office reported. Crowell later told deputies she had lied to her fiancé and others about her pregnancy. She admitted to giving birth to the infant in a toilet at her home about 3 p.m. Wednesday. “Crowell related she was afraid that people would think she did something wrong to cause the birth of the infant,” her arrest report states. After the child was found, investigators spoke with Crowell’s fiancé. He told them he had sent Crowell to the hospital Wednesday for what she claimed was heavy rectal bleeding, according to her arrest report. Crowell had attributed her enlarged and upset stomach to gas, constipation and an enlarged colon, her fiancé told investigators.
12/16/2013
Volusia
VALERIE
Alive
A man claimed he found a newborn baby outside a convenience store early Monday morning, deputies said…. However, the mother’s boyfriend, 53-year-old Ralph Garlick Jr., was arrested after providing false information to law enforcement and resisting arrest without violence. Garlick initially told Volusia County deputies that he found the baby wrapped in newspaper outside the DeBary Food Mart on South Charles R. Beall Boulevard after hearing the girl’s cries.Garlick identified himself to authorities using his dead brother’s name, but under further questioning, he admitted the baby belonged to his girlfriend, although he isn’t the father, officials said. Garlick said his 34-year-old girlfriend didn’t want the newborn girl and that he was trying to find a safe place for the baby, authorities said. Garlick also told investigators that the girl was born early Monday morning in an apartment complex in Orange City. Volusia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Gary Davidson said the false name was the first indication that the story may not be accurate. But investigators also found it odd that, based on his story, he would have had to pass a sheriff’s office substation, yet he didn’t stop there to alert authorities to the so-called abandoned baby. “That would have been a safe location he could have gone to,” Davidson said. The baby was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, where doctors said she appeared to be in good condition, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Once the baby is medically cleared, she will be turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families. In the state of Florida, Safe Haven Laws allow birth parents to safely surrender a newborn (up to 7 days old) at attended fire or EMS stations, as well as hospitals, to preclude abandoning a newborn and causing harm or worse. Infants that are surrendered through the Safe Haven Law are directly placed with approved adoptive parents through private adoption agencies. They do not enter the foster care system.
03/15/2013
Pinellas
PRECIOUS
Dead
A dead newborn girl with her umbilical cord still attached was discovered swaddled in a towel on the front step of Clearwater Fire Station # 49 at about 7.20am.…..It remains unclear if the baby was dead or alive at the time she was abandoned at the station. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death and an ongoing investigation to identify the parent(s).
02/21/2013
Broward
JAMIE
Alive
An abandoned newborn baby (approximately 1 to 3 days old) was found by a bush wrapped in a blanket in a parking lot……..The baby was sleeping at the time and found by a passer-by. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue took the newborn to Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. The baby was born outside of a hospital based on how the umbilical cord was cut.
10/24/2012
Duval
JACKIE
Alive
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. police were dispatched to Huntington Apartments located at 3333 Monument Road regarding an abandoned infant.
The baby was located in front of apartment number 1112 which has been vacant since July of 2012. The baby was located only wrapped in a towel and was on the ground. The baby is a black female. According to medical staff the baby appears to be full term and was a couple hours old at the time she was located. The baby is doing well and is currently at a local hospital. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is currently trying to locate anyone with any information about this incident. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866.845.TIPS.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office would like to remind people about Florida’s Safe Haven Law. A child 7 days old or younger can be left at a hospital, emergency medical services station, or a fire station without any recourse.
09/19/2012
Polk
DENNIS
Dead
A Polk County girl is facing first-degree murder charges this week after deputies say she strangled her newborn shortly after delivering him in her bathroom toilet.
The 14 year old tried to conceal her pregnancy from beginning to end by wearing loose fitting clothing, manipulating pregnancy tests and finally delivered in secret at her home.
The teen told investigators she killed the child because she was “afraid her relationship with her parents would change”.
08/10/2012
Broward
GABRIEL
Dead
Alexandria Sladon-Marler, 33, is charged with aggravated manslaughter and child neglect for allegedly leaving her newborn son to die in a dumpster at a hotel where lately she was living and at other times living on the street.
Melisa McNeil, an assistant public defender said Sladon-Marler has been Baker Acted, or involuntarily committed for mental health evaluation, “several times”. She said that a family member concerned about her pregnancy also attempted to have her involuntarily committed for substance abuse. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Sladon-Marler went to the Hospital and said she had an abortion but was examined by a Doctor who determined she had delivered a baby. The umbilical cord attached to Sladon-Marler matched the one attached to the full term, born alive but now dead baby.
11/03/2009
Orange
RAE
Dead
Mother accused of drowing newborn in toilet
A 28 yr old Orlando mother was arrested Friday after being accused of drowning her newborn in a toilet last month. Police suspected Xavier-Valez drowned her daughter at her apartment near the Orlando Executive Airport. An autopsy determined that the 4 pound, 5ounce baby was born alive, though Xavier-Valez insisted she was stillborn. Xavier-Valez arrived at Florida Hospital Altamonte on Nov 3, 2009 with a dead infant inside a green drawstring backpack, according to an arrest warrant.
10/19/2009
Duval
DESIRE
Alive
Newborn found in trash can at Church. Police say a bystander spotted Woman leaving baby Monday night., 10/19/2009.
Abandoned, but alive. Jacksonvile police is trying to find out who left a baby in a trash can at a church on the Southside Monday Night. Police said a bystander called them after seeing a woman abandon a baby in front of Greater Works Christian Ministries in the 9000 block of Beach Blvd. Officers said the newborn was alive and covered in blood. Police said the baby was taken to Baptist Hospital, but because of federal law, there is no more information available.
05/30/2009
Marion
MARTHA
Alive
Infant found abandoned in a box – The baby girl was taken to Munroe Regional for observation.
A motorist reported finding an abandoned baby girl Saturday in a cardboarrd QVC box beside a dirt road in NW Ocala. Doctors determined the baby to be from 3 to 7 days old , was ant-bitten and hungry, but otherwise in good health.
12/29/2008
Santa Rosa
MILTON
Dead
A family dog made a grim discovery of a newborn body in thick woods behind a home on Clear Creek Rd in Milton on Monday.
The dog, described as a Labrador mix, emerged at about 4P.M. with the body of the infant in Santa Rosa County. The Sheriff Office released little information, but asked the public to help to identify the baby or the baby’s mother. The Sheriff spokesan would not speculate about how long the infant had been in the woods. Nor would he estimate the age other than to say the baby appears to be full-term. If the child was left alive in the woods by the mother, it would be homicide.
11/03/2008
Bay
ENRIQUE
Dead
Woman suffocates and throws away her newborn in Bay County, Panama City, Florida
Bay County Sheriff’s, says that the mother of the newborn male baby suffocated her newborn and dumped the infant in a trash can early Sunday. The mother also has a 9 year old son and had undergone a previous abortion. The mother concealed the pregnancy from friends and relatives, had the baby in a bathroon at about midnight Saturday, killed him and threw him away. When mother is released from the Hospital, she will be charged with an open count of murder. The investigators asked the mother if she knew about the Law and she said “She contemplated that option, but decided to stick with her original plan”.
09/29/2008
Miami-Dade
KENDALL
Alive
Newborn boy rescued from Miami-Dade trash bin
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pulled a newborn boy from a dumpster Monday night after a janitor taking out the trash heard the baby crying. The little boy was apparently only an hour old, with his umbilical cord still attached, said Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Eddie Ballester. The Janitor , who cleans the offices where the baby was found, waved down a passing rescue truck to help the child. One of the Fire fighters jumped into the dumpster and retrieved the newborn. Ballester said that the child appeared to be healthy, but was taken to Baptist Hospital as a precaution. Ballester said that mothers who do not believe they can take care of their newborns can drop them off at any Fire Station in Florida with no questions asked.
09/09/2008
Miami-Dade
JESSICA
Alive
Cops find abandoned newborn under plants. Police found a newborn child – with an umbillical cord and placenta attached – early Tuesday morning abandoned underneath a plant in North Bay Village.
Police Officers made the discovery after receiving a call from physicians at Jacksom Memorial Hospital, saying they were treating a woman who was bleeding excessively from her vagina. At 2:05AM, Officers were dispatched to 7917 West Dr. – the area where the woman had been picked up earlier by Fire-Rescue crews to search for a newborn. Officers found the baby girl tucked underneath a plant near a fence on the south side of the property where the mother was picked up. The baby appeared to be breathing and was wrapped in the uniforn shirt of the lady offcer. They rushed the baby to a nearby Fire station for medical attention. Fire Resuce then took her to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Emergency room doctors discovered a piece of a plant stuck in the infants throat, which they removed. The baby girl remains in serious condition. The mother is 18 years old.
06/14/2008
Broward
DESTINY
Alive
Woman Jailed for trying to “Dump” her baby
Lauderdale lakes (CBS4) – A newborn baby girl is alive, thanks to the efforts of some peopls who literally grabbed her out of a garbage bag. Police say the baby’s mother confessed to stuffing the newborn inside the bag along with garbage two weeks ago.
04/26/2008
Manatee
KIRK
Alive
A newborn baby boy was found abandoned in weeds up to a foot high Friday in Palmetto
The baby, which police said was a few hours old, was found by a teenage boy and his father in the 600 blk of Haskos off US 301. Palmetto police spokesman Sgt. Scott Tyler said police were concerned abouth the health of the mother and questioning local businesses to see if anyone had seen a pregnant woman in the area. He said she likely gave birth in the weeds.
11/22/2007
Highlands
ALBAN
Dead
A 24 year old woman has admitted to putting her newborn baby boy in the trash.
It has not been determined if the baby was alive at the time. This woman is married, her husband is out of the country and she became pregnant while he was away.
07/20/2007
Duval
ASHLEY
Alive
JACKSONVILLE, FL — Police are calling her, “Baby Jane Doe.” A newborn baby, found in a Southside dumpster.
Witnesses say a woman taking out her trash at the Beachwood Apartments heard crying from inside a dumpster. She rushed to her neighbors for help. A neighbor said when she looked into the dumpster, she didn’t hear anything, but then she saw movement on a pink patterned pillowcase. “I instantly grabbed the pillowcase out of the garbage, set it on the ground and from there I grabbed the baby out,” said a neighbor. “Someone gave me a tee shirt and I grabbed the baby and I held it until the police arrived.” Neighbor looked on. “The placenta and the umbilical cord were still attached and she was wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a pillowcase inside the dumpster!”
07/08/2007
Broward
CYNTHIA
Dead
Mom jailed in baby’s trash-can death
BSO arrested a 22-year-old woman, charging her with murder, after the discovery of her newborn infant in a trash can, wrapped in a plastic garbage bag.
03/02/2007
Palm Beach
LUCIA
Dead
Baby buried in jar.
Authorities were looking for the mother of a baby girl whose remains were found in a two-gallon pickle jar buried near a highway. A construction crew discovered the jar, the baby’s umbilical cord was still attached.
11/22/2006
Palm Beach
GRACE
Dead
Newborns Girl’s body found in concrete pile.
Workers found the naked baby with her umbilical cord still attached on Tuesday morning in a mound of discarded concrete set for crushing at Run Recycling West of West Palm Beach.
09/15/2006
Miami-Dade
NELSON
Dead
A Cutler Bay Resident on Friday made a disturbing discovery: a dead newborn baby, with umbilical cord, found floating in a canal
The newborn was floating in the canal. The little boy was dead, his umbilical cord and placenta still attached.
09/11/2006
Pasco
MIRIAM
Dead
Newborn Found in store garbage can at Target
The body of an unclothed baby girl, just a few hours old, was found in a garbage can Monday in the women’s employee bathroom at Target, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.
07/20/2006
Miami-Dade
NOAH
Dead
Murder suspect Hid pregnancy
A native of Guatemala Maria Eugenia Pacheco came to homestead 3 month ago to earn money. Now she’s behind bars, accused of murdering her newborn baby.
05/09/2006
Polk
MAY ANGEL
Dead
Baby’s Body Discovered in Trash Bin
Lakeland (The Ledger)– Tuesday afternoon, under the spreading branches of a tall oak tree, Polk County sheriff’s deputies picked through a trash bin that had become a newborn baby girl’s gravesite. No one knew whether she died there or somewhere else, or whether she was born alive or dead.
05/09/2006
Hillsborough
DEBORAH
Dead
Abandoned infant found dead in Tampa Fla.
Tampa, Fla. (AP) – Police found a infant’s decomposing corpse on Tuesday night. The baby’s mother was charged Wednesday with child neglect. She told investigators she was intoxicated and high on cocaine when she delivered the baby girl in the alley, police said.
02/24/2006
Brevard
SAMUEL
Dead
TITUSVILLE — A 20-year-old woman who told police she had wanted an abortion is facing charges that she watched her newborn son die and then dumped his body in the trash
10/28/2005
Pinellas
CHRISTOPHER
Dead
Baby boy was found in a trash bin at the Tyrone Square Mall
St. Petersburg Times, Mother – 35 Years Old
09/26/2005
Highlands
ABRAHAM
Alive
Abandoned baby boy found outside of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Sebring wrapped in a red towel and in a long sleeve undershirt with mittens.
Highlands Today
01/24/2005
Palm Beach
ELIAS
Dead
Dead newborn found amid recycling trash
West Palm Beach: A worker sorting trash found a dead newborn on a conveyor belt at the Palm Beach County recycling center, police said. Employees discovered the naked infant while separating metal and aluminum recyclables shortly after 9 p.m. Monday. There was no blanket, bag or other evidence found with the body that could help to identify him
10/31/2004
Monroe
VIVIANA
Dead
Newborn baby found in woman’s bathroom hotel on Key West.
The Herald- Key West – A dead newborn girl – placenta and umbilical cord still attached was found at women’s bathroom garbage can at Hilton Resort.
06/03/2004
Hillsborough
CHARITY
Dead
Mom accused in newborn daughter’s June death
Tawnya Jo Hines, 25, gave birth in the bathroom and then placed the infant in the bathroom cabinet. She was charged with second-degree murder in the death of her minutes-old daughter, Angel.
04/08/2004
Orange
ROBIN
Alive
Newborn baby boy found outside Apopka Family Health Center
Orlando Sentinel (Orange County) A newborn boy, not more than a few hours old, was found near some bushes in front of a helath clicnic.
09/19/2003
Putnam
PETER
Alive
Baby Boy Found Outside Palatka Health Center
First Coast News (Palatka). The newborn was discovered in a bundle of clothes outside a Palatka nursing home by a nursing supervisor
08/19/2003
Volusia
NAOMI
Alive
Clues sought about newborn found on bench.
Orlando Sentinel (Daytona Beach). The newborn girl was found on a bench outside a closed medical building.
08/17/2003
Lee
JOSE
Alive
Abandoned baby boy found at complex.
News-Press (Fort Myers) A resident of the Regency Park found the Infant left at bottom of apartment stairs. “He was still bloody, and the umbilical cord was bleeding.
08/04/2003
Broward
PHILIP
Alive
Newborn baby boy left at front porch.
The Miami Herald. (Near Fort Lauderdale) Mother – 22 years old.
07/31/2003
Miami-Dade
EDMUND
Alive
Infant found in bushes near beach
The Miami Herald. (Bal Harbour Beach) Mother – 21 years old. A woman found a naked infant boy, alone and covered in blood with a ripped umbilical cord. He was lying on a small bed of grass.
05/31/2003
Palm Beach
REBECCA
Dead
Woman Arrested in Death of Newborn
The Sun Sentinel (found in Boynton Beach) Mother – 22 years old, gave birth to a live baby girl in Boynton Beach home, wrapped her in a T-Shirt, shoved her in a plastic bag and hid her under the bathroom sink.
05/18/2003
Monroe
JANE
Dead
Dead Newborn Baby found by Key West Hotel Guard
The Miami Herald (found in Monroe County). A security guard making rounds at the Raddison Hotel in Key West found a dead newborn baby at 6 a.m.. The baby girl, whom detective called “baby Jane”, still had the umbilical cord and placenta attached when she was found.
05/14/2003
Brevard
ANGELICA
Dead
Infant’s body found in Melbourne Yard
Orlando Sentinel (found in Brevard County) Mother – 15 years old – told the police she gave birth to a stillborn daughter and buried the infant in her backyard.
01/03/2003
Orange
BENJAMIN
Dead
Teen Finds Dead Infant in Boat
Orlando Sentinel (found in Orange County) Mother – 16 years old – Said she found the body a newborn inside a boat at a vacant home in Pine Hills. The 7 pound baby boy was alive at birth.
09/04/2002
Collier
JULIA
Alive
Crying Newborn Found in Trash
The Miami Herald (found in Immokalee) A newborn girl found covered with ants and crying in a garbage can was hospitalized Monday.
08/05/2002
Pinellas
DAMARIS
Alive
Neighbors Find Newborn Girl in Trash Bin
07/27/2002
Sumter
JUDITH
Alive
Abandoned Baby’s Parents Not Found
Thestate.com (found in Sumter County) . Two boys were riding bikes near an overgrown vacant lot when they heard a baby crying. They found the ant-covered naked newborn lying in the lot. The infant was named Grace by Palmetto Health Richland Hospital nurses.
05/05/2002
Broward
JUSTIN
Dead
Shocker in Backpack: Dead Baby
The Miami Herald (found in Miramar) When police arrived at a suburban Miramar home late Friday night, all they had was a grisly tip. Hours later, they had unearthed a dead baby, buried inside a black backpack under 18 inches of dirt and sod.
03/28/2002
Seminole
AARON
Alive
Police: Teen Leaves Baby at Restaurant
NewsChannell2000.com (found in Sanford) Mother – Seminole High School Student- The infant was only about 20 minutes old when it was discovered in front a restaurant.
02/06/2002
Indian River
VERONICA
Dead
A week old baby girl found drowned in a ditch in Vero Beach
On February 6, 2002 a week old baby girl was found drowned in a ditch in Vero Beach. Authorities name her “Hope” – She was buried in Crest lawn Cemetery – Florida Today Newspaper
05/22/2001
Miami-Dade
MAY MARIA
Dead
Infant Found Dead in Duffel bag in Broward Died head trauma.
The Miami Herald (found in Golden Beach) the body of the baby girl was found in Hallandale Beach by a passing cyclist.
04/20/2001
Miami-Dade
APRIL
Dead
Workers Find Newborn Baby Girl in Garbage
The Miami Herald (found in Key Biscayne) A newborn girl discovered in a garbage bin at a Key Biscayne condominium died as a result of blunt trauma.
04/04/2001
Broward
GABRIEL
Dead
Boy Finds Dead Baby in Backpack in Canal
Aimee Lee Weiss, a Tamarac, Florida, teenager (17 yrs old) faces charges that she killed her newborn son, put his body in a backpack, and dumped the body in a canal
11/18/2000
Miami-Dade
PATRICK
Dead
Teen Mom Puts Newborn in Trash, Mother – 16 years old
The Miami Herald (found in Homestead) A teenage girl in Homestead gave birth to a baby boy Friday morning after months of trying to hide her pregnancy, then dumped the infant in a neighbor’s trash can, police said.
11/01/2000
Polk
EVAN
Alive
Woman left her newborn boy under a tree near the emergency room of the Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center.
07/11/2000
Orange
MARCUS
Alive
ABANDONED NEWBORN HEALTHY AFTER BEING FOUND IN HOTEL GARAGE
The Miami Herald (found in Orlando) A newborn boy appeared to be in good health after he was found Monday wrapped in towels and stuffed in a laundry bag inside a hotel parking garage. A construction worker found the baby inside the garage at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel.